"They have been scared not only by what you did but by the reactions to them of members of your family and friends.

"The fact that the girls have been condemned, and not you, reveals a profoundly worrying attitude to what has gone on here; an attitude which, if not challenged, will lead to further cases like this in the future.

"The sort of attitudes toward young girls which led to the commission of these offences has no place in a civilised society.

"It is unacceptable for feckless young men to roam the streets at night seeking young impressionable young girls with only one objective in mind.

"This is behaviour which needs to be condemned.

"It's equally unacceptable and deserving of condemnation for a taxi driver to abuse a position of trust which his employment gives him to take advantage of girls who get into his car.

"This was exploitative, predatory conduct."

The judge said this was not a case of a trafficking network like others elsewhere in the country.

Police officers at Teesside Crown Court today

Ahmed, of Cambridge Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, previously admitted five offences of sexual activity with a child, concerning abuse of five schoolgirls.

"You were clearly obsessed by having sex with underage girls and you sought out every opportunity do that," added Judge Walford.

"You were a lurking presence throughout the events with which this case in concerned, that cover a period of a little over six months."

He locked up Ahmed for eight years and banned him from driving for six years.

He left his nephew Ahmed alone with two girls, enabling him to have sexual activity with them in his car, after rides around Middlesbrough.

The judge said Latif played "an important and significant role" and gave "carefully scripted and surprisingly mature" evidence in the witness box.

He still denied his crimes to a probation officer, though he said different in a letter to the judge.

"Anything other than a sentence of some length would in my judgment be an affront to the girls," added Judge Walford, sending Latif to a young offenders' institution for three years.

All three defendants were made subject to sexual offences prevention orders.

The judge said he hoped the girls could be allowed to put the events behind them.

Teesside Crown Court

In a statement issued after the hearing, Gillian Milton, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) co-ordinator for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Those sentenced today were involved in the systematic sexual exploitation of six particularly vulnerable young girls.

"In spite of their vulnerability, the victims have shown significant courage throughout this trial and I would hope that today’s sentence brings them some measure of closure.

“Tackling this kind of abuse is a priority for all parts of the criminal justice system and the CPS are well equipped to build strong cases against those committing such offences.

"We also continue to work closely with police and other agencies to ensure that extensive support is provided for victims throughout the investigation and prosecution of such cases.

“I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward report it to police.”